2025 Cardozo Law Review Symposium

• Understanding the Basics - Neil Weare
• The Insular Cases Framework - Luis Fuentes-Rohwer
• International Law Framework - Anette Martinez-Orobana
• Practicing Law in U.S. Territories - Anthony Ciolli

While Indigenous rights have received increased attention both at the international level and in the United States in recent years, Indigenous communities in U.S. territories often find themselves excluded and alienated at both the international and domestic levels. International regimes, including those focused on decolonization and self-determination, have largely excluded a focus on Indigenous communities in Pacific territories. Domestically, these communities are generally left out of national-level conversations about Indigenous rights. There also remain important unanswered questions about whether and how Indigenous rights in U.S. territories can co-exist with U.S. constitutional requirements. How can Indigenous communities in U.S. territories build greater solidarity with other Indigenous communities to ensure their rights and ability to exercise self-determination are protected under both international and domestic law?

The Insular Cases relied on 1900s conceptions of international law to depart from well-established U.S. constitutional principles to develop a legal framework that embraced the undemocratic colonial rule of millions in overseas U.S. territories. However, understandings of international law have shifted dramatically since 1900, now embracing decolonization and self-determination as peremptory norms of international law. As we approach the 125th Anniversary of the Insular Cases, how should international law interact with and impact the domestic legal frameworks governing the 3.6 million people who live in U.S. territories today?

People in U.S. territories are on the front lines of climate change, with global environmental changes representing an existential threat to their well-being and way of life. In December 2024, the International Court of Justice considered a landmark case brought by Indigenous communities in the Pacific to consider what obligations United Nations members states have under international law to protect the planet from greenhouse gas emissions for future generations. One key argument was that global pollutors and the climate change they create infringe on the right to self-determination for Indigenous communities throughout the Pacific. How should the right to self-determination be understood in an era of unprecedented external threats to the environment of Pacific Islands communities?